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Anyone remember TV licences?

Many years ago, New Zealanders had to pay for a TV licence if they wanted to watch broadcast TV.

The money from that licence was used to help fund the creation and broadcast of TV content by the state-owned broadcaster.

Yes, there were ads but only on some days of the week and only during certain hours. Sundays, some public holidays and the first hour or two of broadcsting were ad-free so the money to pay for these transmissions had to come from somewhere.

In effect, TV in New Zealand was a subscription-based service long before it was a wholely ad-funded one.

Once private TV companies were given permission to operate, the TV licence concept was abandoned. It would have provided an unreasonable benefit to the state-funded channels at a time when competition was being encouraged.

It is now 2025 and subscription-based services on your TV are now all the rage again. Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and a raft of other streaming companies are all competing for your monthly entertainment spend.

It seems we've almost come full circle.

Spare a thought for our poor old mates in the UK though...

Through all this they've still had to pay a TV licence fee and the situation there is utterly ridiculous.

From what I gather, all of the licence fee goes to the UK's state-funded broadcaster, the BBC. Independent broadcasters have to earn their own money, which clearly puts them at a disadvantage when compared to the legislated guaranteed revenues that arrive in the BBC's coffer by virtue of licence fees.

To be fair, the BBC is ad-free so that's a bonus and the annual licence fee is probably less than the equivalent subscription to Netflix but the details are outrageous.

Even if you only watch non-BBC broadcast TV, you still have to pay for a licence. Yep, the BBC is effectively taxing other broadcaster's customers to line their own pockets.

If you don't have an antenna or satellite dish you might think you'd be able to avoid paying a licence fee because you're not receiving broadcast TV... right?

Well in some cases the answer is yes -- however there is also a clause in the legislation that covers any live streaming. So if you're watching a livestream on YouTube or a live event being covered by your favourite video streaming service then you will still be required to buy a licence by law.

Judging by videos on YouTube that cover the topic, it seems that the enforcement of the TV licence is also rather jack-booted and draconian.

Stormtroopers charged with extracting licence fees from the public regularly rock up to people's doors and demand payment -- even without proof that the household is using services that require the licence. Stand-over tactics and menacing behaviour seem to be the norm in such cases.

Even before the little Hitlers get out and about, the licencing authority sends out threatening letters to every household not seen to have already paid for a licence. These letters threaten a criminal record and huge fines for those who don't pay their licence fee.

These "enforcement" strategies seem to be increasing in frequency, scope and severity, as the BBC discovers that more and more people are simply ditching broadcast TV for the likes of Netflix. This had doubtlessly resulted in a significant fall in revenues from the licence and the drop-off in BBC viewers has been exacerbated by the broadcaster's many scandals and unpopular ideological views.

Now, in what seems like a rather odd move, the BBC has decided to launch subscription-based access to its services in the USA. Do they really think this is going to fly?

In reality, the BBC is no longer the trustworthy oracle of objective news reporting it was once perceived to be. The organisation has been rocked by child abuse scandals and a commitment to wokeness that has alienated much of its formerly core audience. It strikes me that this move in the USA is simply an indication that it is now grasping at straws for its very survival.

As increasing numbers of Brits ditch their TV licence in favour of non-broadcast media sources, the BBC may well find itself unfunded and unloved.

I can't wait to see how this works out.

Carpe Diem folks!

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